Embracing Gen Z: Here’s what we will need to secure the future.
By Kyla Guru, Stanford University and Bits N’ Bytes Cybersecurity Education. Follow her on Twitter @GuruDetective.
“How does Snapchat store my data?” A student from across the classroom perks up after clicking “complete” on her learning module. It’s moments like this that reinforce the founding mission of Bits N’ Bytes Cybersecurity Education, the nonprofit that I founded at 14 years old.
Looking back on four years of travelling to classrooms around the world, I have seen how cybersecurity education can be used as a gateway to accountability, innovation, patriotism, and a stronger democracy. In this piece, I share stories from inside of classrooms, and my findings on how Generation Z understands and contemplates security in their lives. From this, I share lessons on how we can transform education (at home, at school, and at work) to be a vehicle for radical change in cybersecurity. There’s homework at the end--what you can do in your community to foster these conversations and what you, as a female practitioner, can do to inspire other young women to fight the good fight. While you won’t have to turn this homework in, I have to say, the future of our nation’s cybersecurity posture is counting on you. Read the full article. Visit Bits N’ Bytes.
Would you like to be featured in a future issue of the Creating Connections newsletter? We are currently accepting submissions for pieces written by women, about women, and information on women in cyber related events. Simply reply to this email to get started.
How do you switch trajectory at speed when you’re under threat?
By Kris Lovejoy, EY Global Consulting Cybersecurity Leader
Especially during the pandemic, with new challenges from remote work and office re-openings to secure, chief information security officers must be swift and nimble to ensure their security is several steps ahead of cyber-attacks. The good news is, there are practical measures leaders can take now to help ensure cyber threats don’t catch them by surprise. As the threat landscape expands, with ransomware attacks and hackers testing security fences that may not be strong enough to sufficiently protect remote workers and organizations already grappling with the disruptions caused by COVID-19, these measures are particularly critical. Read more in the article, How do you switch trajectory at speed when you’re under threat?
Coming to terms with 2020's virtual reality.
By Regina Johnson, The CyberWire
In the world of cybersecurity, ensuring secure networks is second nature. But if 2020 has taught us anything, it is that routines are fallible and functional creativity is essential.
Like so many working parents who had to adapt to virtual learning and working from home, life changed faster than I could ever prepare for. Being thrust into a situation where you are suddenly connecting several new devices to your network or are in a position where you may not have internet access at home and have to connect to one of the thousands of public wifi hotspots that have sprung up in the last eight months is anxiety-inducing, to say the least.
As the months wear on and this arrangement starts feeling more permanent than not, my concerns have not let up. How do I know that the platforms that my child is using are truly secure? What happens if somehow my network is breached and his school laptop is affected? I get alerts from my security programs if he visits blocked or potentially unsafe sites on our family computer, but I don’t have that ability with his school computer. Is there sensitive information in camera range? These concerns naturally led to more frequent conversations with my child about behaving as if there is always a camera on when devices are on and being mindful of what is said or shown near a computer since there is almost always a meeting app active in my house. We also talk frequently about school-appropriate online behavior, safe email use, and shoulder-surfing, much to my young child’s chagrin (I know Mom, gosh!). It also made me constantly aware of my network security. I’m now responsible for not only my own personal devices, but also the devices lent to us by the school and my job. This is not something I take lightly.
2020 has brought so many challenges: living in a pandemic, virtual learning, and constantly shifting our expectations for the future. Keeping our kids safe is always going to be the one constant; in this age of virtual learning and the constant presence of devices, teaching kids about cyber safety, especially when cameras and microphones are turned on, must happen far sooner and much more comprehensively than may have been done previously. Homes are now also classrooms and offices, often simultaneously and in tight quarters for many families which means trying to work and have meetings across the table or room from a student who is trying to learn. 2020 has thrown so many challenges at us as parents, employees, and citizens of the world, but regardless of all that has happened this year, we can and must still keep our kids safe and our home networks secure.
